On the uncertainty of the Auger recombination coefficient extracted from InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode efficiency droop measurements

III-nitride light-emitting diodes (LEDs) suffer from a severe efficiency reduction with increasing injection current (droop). Auger recombination is often seen as primary cause of this droop phenomenon. The corresponding Auger recombination coefficient C is typically obtained from efficiency measurements using mathematical models. However, C coefficients reported for InGaN active layers vary over two orders of magnitude. We here investigate this uncertainty and apply successively more accurate models to the same efficiency measurement, thereby revealing the strong sensitivity of the Auger coefficient to quantum well properties such as electron-hole ratio, electric field, and hot carrier escape. VC 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4914833]